Ben Carson Wins Maryland GOP Straw Poll

Dr. Ben Carson has received some good news ahead of the second Republican debate tonight: he has won the Maryland GOP’s straw poll, according to a story from The Hill.

As a retired neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Carson can expect to do well in Maryland, but this poll result does reflect his surge in most recent polls.

Carson won 31.8 percent of the vote, beating his next closest competitor, Donald Trump, by 6 points. Trump polls at 25.9 percent, which means that once again, more than half of all Republican support goes to those two. Anything can happen, especially in and after tonight’s debate.

Marco Rubio barely edged out Ted Cruz for third, 6.9-6.8 percent, with Scott Walker rounding out the top five with 4.7 percent support.